College Council Approves New Residence Hall

The College Council last week approved SUNY Cortland’s plans to build a new, 220-bed residence hall.

The two-story, 61,000-square-foot structure would be built at the south ends of Hayes and Hendrick halls. It is targeted to open for the 2013-14 academic year.

The new residence hall is needed to meet increasing demand for on-campus housing as well as to compensate for the planned conversion of Whitaker Hall into administrative offices, said Jeff Lallas, the college’s director of facilities planning, design and construction.

Lallas presented the plan at the council’s April 25 meeting. The council unanimously approved the $14 million project, which would offer four-bedroom suites with private bathrooms.

Currently, about half of the college’s undergraduate students live on campus. According to Lallas, the college currently has a waiting list for on-campus housing and typically has to put three freshmen in a room; something it would rather avoid.

Design work will begin this spring and construction could start by March, 2012.

In addition to approving the residence hall plans, the College Council approved two changes to the Code of Student Conduct.

Persistent, pervasive or severe bullying is now included as a form of prohibited harassment under the Code, in recognition of behavioral trends at other schools and in society, Judicial Affairs Director Nan Pasquarello said.

In addition, the college will now keep records of minor student misconduct for three years instead of only one year. The change was made to comply with a recent change in SUNY policy on records retention. Conduct violations involving drugs or alcohol will continue to be kept for seven years. Records of suspensions for hazing or other serious incidents will continue to be retained permanently.